Knowing More About Types of Cheese With -The cheese wheel

To understand the different Types of Cheese which are available on Planet Earth requires an expert. There is something unique and innately scientific in the manner of making, composition and curing of cheese which demands more than a passing interest in gourmet food. It requires that you have a deep understanding of how and why cheese mature under different environmental controls resulting in the various types of cheese. It takes nearly a lifetime of learning and discovering cheese to know all about cheese. It requires a true-blood passionate turophile to name and speak the language of cheese.

However, for the interested cheese gourmet there are tools of the field which will allow a ‘short-cut’ to know about the different types of Cheese. This handy tool is called the Cheese Wheel.

This wheel of cheese types is typically used to match a particular type of cheese with the best wine pair. Hence, pairing of a cheese style with a wine variety becomes very easy with the Cheese Wheel. It is a constant source for ‘amazing pairings’ for the gourmet and professionals from the food and beverage industry.

The Cheese wheel is typically sectored into three types per cheese style. Therefore, soft white Cheese, Blue Vein Cheese and Cheddar are grouped as part of fourth quarter of the wheel. Another grouping is the Swiss Cheese with Fetta Cheese and Fresh and Cream cheese. The combination of the styles and varieties make it ideal to satisfy any of the cheese cravings.

Types of Cheese that the Cheese Wheel includes are the Hard Italian style cheese, Washed rind cheese and the Mozzarella style of cheese. Another standalone variety is the goat’s cheese, because of diverse types of cheese available from different cheese making regions of the world.

Given the wide-ranging of groupings possible on the cheese wheel, a wine grouping or chart is also used by experts to create their own matches.

For Types of Cheese such as soft white cheese are characterized by their mushroom-flavor or earthy flavor, the wine wheel would recommend a chardonny. Hence a sweet wine is typically matched with this cheese style.  The most common types of the soft white cheese variety are the Brie and the Camembert. These are usually matched with Chardonnay. Buttery cheese variety such as the Triple cream cheese is highly loved with Chardonnay.

Similarly the cheese wheel section of Mozzarella style of cheese would twin with wines which are light and fresh. This is essential because the wines have to match the mild nature of the cheese and have to enhance the taste. These cheese styles are usually served as part of the starter or as part of the main meal itself. There are rarely served as standalone cheese. Hence the wine served with this cheese style has to be mild, so that it complements most types of food.

Therefore, Cheese Wheels are tools of the cheese industry which help the most naïve of the cheese host to the most sophisticated to enjoy their cheese or serve the best paired cheese and wines for their guests.